Benefits
Visceral body fat over 12 weeks
In a 12 week double blind study of 94 adults, a daily drink with 600 mg of apple polyphenols lowered visceral fat area from baseline at weeks 8 and 12, and the change was significantly larger than with a placebo drink. Broken down by starting level, the drop was clear in people who began at 100 cm2 or more and not in those below it. The study was run by the maker's own researchers.
Total and LDL cholesterol
In a 12 week double blind trial in 71 adults with a BMI of 23 to 30, people took 600 mg a day of apple polyphenols, hop bract polyphenols or placebo as separate groups. In the apple group, total cholesterol fell versus placebo at week 4 and versus baseline at week 12, and LDL cholesterol fell from baseline at weeks 8 and 12. It was one small trial run by Asahi Breweries researchers.
Adiponectin levels
In the same 71 person trial, adiponectin, a hormone made by fat tissue that is linked to insulin sensitivity, fell significantly over 12 weeks on placebo but held steady in the apple polyphenol group, so the two groups differed. This is a blood marker from one small trial, not a demonstrated health outcome.
Skin color after UV exposure
In a 12 week double blind trial in 65 healthy Japanese women, 300 or 600 mg a day of Applephenon reduced the rise in redness and melanin and the loss of lightness in UV exposed upper arm skin compared with placebo, measured as change from baseline. The raw readings did not differ between groups, the higher dose was not clearly better, and facial moisture did not change.
Physical fatigue during cycling
In a double blind crossover study of 18 healthy volunteers, 1200 mg a day of Applephenon for 8 days better preserved maximum pedaling speed during a long cycling fatigue test (two 2 hour bouts at a fixed load) than placebo did. Vitamin C, tested as a separate arm, had no effect. It was a small, short study.
Bowel movement frequency
In a 12 week randomized, placebo controlled trial co-authored by BGG researchers, 24 overweight Japanese adults with constipation took 600 mg a day of unripe apple polyphenols or placebo, and 23 were analysed. Weekly bowel movements reached about 7.0 versus 4.9 on placebo. Gut levels of Akkermansia muciniphila and body composition did not differ between groups.
Mechanism of action
Free radical scavenging in test tube assays
Procyanidins isolated from Applephenon strongly scavenged superoxide radicals in a test tube assay, with activity peaking at the tetramer. Whether this happens in the body at supplement doses was not measured in any of the human studies cited here.
Gut bacteria: tested in people and unchanged
Large procyanidins are poorly absorbed and reach the colon, where gut bacteria break them down. In mice, highly polymeric apple procyanidins raised Akkermansia muciniphila, but the one human trial that measured it found no change versus placebo after 12 weeks.
Fat metabolism: proposed, not shown in people
The authors of the cholesterol trial suggest apple polyphenols may reduce fat absorption in the gut and boost fat breakdown in the liver, based on rat, mouse and test tube enzyme studies. The human trials cited here did not measure either process.
Clinical trials
Randomized, double blind, placebo controlled 12 week study of a daily drink with 600 mg of apple polyphenols, plus a separate 4 week safety trial in 30 adults at three times that amount. (Akazome et al. 2010, J Oleo Sci)
94 adults ranging from moderately underweight to moderately obese; 30 more in the safety trial.
Visceral fat area in the apple group fell from baseline at weeks 8 and 12, and its change was significantly larger than placebo (p<0.01). In a breakdown by starting level, the drop was significant in people starting at 100 cm2 or more and not in those below. No clinical problems or adverse reactions appeared in either trial. The authors worked for Asahi Breweries.
Randomized, double blind, placebo controlled 12 week trial with three separate groups taking four 150 mg capsules a day: hop bract polyphenols, apple polyphenols or placebo. (Nagasako-Akazome et al. 2007, J Oleo Sci)
74 Japanese adults with a BMI of 23 to 30 enrolled; 71 analysed, 24 of them in the apple group.
In the apple group, total cholesterol fell versus placebo at week 4 and versus baseline at week 12, and LDL cholesterol fell from baseline at weeks 8 and 12. Visceral fat fell slightly. Adiponectin dropped on placebo but held steady on apple polyphenols, a significant group difference. No adverse reactions were seen. The authors worked for Asahi Breweries.
Randomized, double blind, placebo controlled 12 week trial of 300 or 600 mg a day of Applephenon tablets. (Shoji et al. 2020, Nutrients)
65 healthy Japanese women aged 20 to 39; 59 analysed.
After UV exposure of upper arm skin, the change from baseline in redness, melanin and lightness was smaller with Applephenon than placebo, but the raw readings did not differ between groups and 600 mg was not clearly better than 300 mg. Facial moisture and water loss did not differ from placebo. No supplement related adverse events. Asahi Breweries funded the study.
Double blind, placebo controlled, three way crossover study of Applephenon 1200 mg a day, vitamin C 1000 mg a day or placebo, each for 8 days. (Ataka et al. 2007, Nutrition)
18 healthy volunteers in Japan.
During a cycling fatigue task with two 2 hour bouts at a fixed load, the change in maximum pedaling speed between an early and a late sprint favored Applephenon over placebo. Vitamin C had no effect.
Randomized, placebo controlled 12 week trial of 600 mg a day of unripe apple polyphenols as four tablets after breakfast. (Sekikawa et al. 2025, J Diet Suppl)
24 Japanese adults with a BMI of 25 to under 30 and constipation, otherwise healthy; 23 analysed.
Weekly bowel movements were higher with apple polyphenols than placebo (7.0 vs 4.9; difference 2.2, 95% CI 0.8 to 3.6). Fecal Akkermansia muciniphila, body measurements and body composition did not differ; triglycerides tended to be lower. Two authors worked for BGG companies.